Thursday, November 3, 2011

Dr Gregg Homer of Stroma Medical, a clinical equipment company primarily based in California, claimed his new "Lumineyes" treatment might be a permanent alternative to colored contact lenses.

The treatment uses a laser to remove melanin, the brown pigment, from the upper layer of the iris, leaving the blue color free to replace it within two to three weeks of the procedure.

But the process is irreversible because the melanin will not grow back and cannot be replaced.

Brown eyes, the most common type across the world, appear so because of the layer of pigment at the front of their eye.

People with blue eyes also have melanin, but it is concentrated at the back of the iris rather than the front, which means the eye absorbs longer wavelengths of light while reflecting shorter ones.

Dr Homer, a former entertainment lawyer, said the cosmetic operation would cost about £3,000 and could be available in countries outside America within 18 months, but the Daily Mail reported that clinical trials have yet to be completed.

He told KTLA Morning News: "A blue eye is not opaque, you can see deeply into it, while a brown eye is very opaque. I think there is something very meaningful about this idea of having open windows to the soul."